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University of South Alabama

Helping Alabama Students “Dig” History

In a partnership with the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, USA’s Archaeology Museum is reshaping the way Alabama students will learn about the shared cultural library. The museum has created a book that will be used as part of the State of Alabama Curriculum for the fourth grade. It has also designed a series of specialized tours that incorporate elements of the state’s curriculum for elementary through high school students that reinforce classroom work, including: Alabama Prehistory & History, Life in Colonial America, Art & Archaeology, Storytelling through Time, and Chemistry & Archaeology. These enhancements to the museum’s offerings can benefit every student who is learning Alabama history.

The partnership is supporting other enhancements of the museum’s programs, including: adding a bone lab to teach students about skeletal analysis and supporting teachers by developing lesson plans for the classroom. “The Daniel Foundation is allowing us to serve the community through innovative educational and outreach programs. Without this funding we would not be able to provide the wide variety of informal education opportunities to schools, like Counsel Traditional Elementary School, Whose students we have visited in their classroom and have had them return again and again for programs at the museum,” said Dr. Philip J. Carr, the Chief Calvin McGhee Endowed Professor of Native American Studies and director of the museum.

Barbara Filion, associate director of the museum, appreciated what the partnership with the Daniel Foundation means for the museum. She states, “With the support of the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, the Archaeology Museum can continue to further our mission to fuel curiosity, awareness, and appreciation for the regions; rich past.”

The Daniel Foundation gift can benefit all fourth grade students in Alabama through a new graphic novel created by museum staff that was designed to be used as part of the State of Alabama Curriculum. “Jean-Pauls’ Daring Adventure: Stories from Old Mobile” and accompanying lesson plans are based on the real-life story of a French family who moved to Mobile in 1704.